- US stocks rallied after December inflation data showed prices fell sharply in the final month of 2022.
- Equity futures were volatile after a report showed monthly prices fell 0.1%.
- The S&P 500 has risen in the last three sessions.
US stocks were higher on Thursday as investors pegged inflation’s slowdown in December against the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) stance of continuing to raise interest rates to keep consumer prices down further.
Equity futures were volatile after the release of Final CPI report for 2022. Thursday’s session will determine whether the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite can rise for a fourth straight day.
Here are the US index positions at the 9:30 am opening bell on Thursday:
Headline inflation fell 0.1% m/m in Dec, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That matched the consensus forecast from a Bloomberg survey of economists. The headline rate was still high at 6.5% year-on-year, but he fell below 7.1% in November.
Meanwhile, the core rate, which excludes energy and food prices, rose 0.3%, in line with expectations, but was slightly above 0.2% in November.
Headline inflation in the US is 6.5%, marking a sharp decline, Oliver Rust, head of product at independent data aggregator Truflation, said in a note. But “it will cause some doubt and uncertainty,” he said.
“There appears to be a consensus that the federal funds rate does not need to be raised above 5.25% to curb inflation,” he said. “A tight labor market will keep pressure on rate hikes, but economic data remain mixed and whether the U.S. can truly avoid a recession will become clear in the coming months.”
Weekly unemployment claims, also released early Thursday, fell by 1,000 to 205,000, indicating that the labor market remains strong.
Other events for today include:
Commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies: